The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-04-27
MOLLIE FANCHER,
Marvellous Trance Experiences Extending
Over Twenty Years.
New York Letter.

At last Mollle Fancher Is going to die.
For twenty years she has resisted death in
the most remarkable way, and now an ac-
eident has occurred which the physicians
say viii bring the end in a few DAYS. Miss
Fancher was lifted as usual from her bed
in order to have the linen changed, when
the attendants accidently dropped her to
the floor. She struck violently on her head
and was rendered senseless. Her extra
ordinary nervous constitution was seri-
ously shocked, and the doctors who have
had charge of her case for a long time de
clare that she can not recover.
II Miss Fancher and her family had been
willing TO have her wonderful history gen.
orally known, or made the subject of scien-
tific inquiry, the world would have been
divided into two factions, and everybody
would have been partisan of one side or
the other for such are the circumstances
that no one could have failed to hear of
them. One faction would have insisted
that there was trickery and deception in
volved in the case, and thus dismissed it
with contempt; the other would have de-
clared lit the most astounding, mysteri-
Gus disorder ever known. AS it is
the facts that are admitted are enough to
cause bitter Discussions in the medical pro-
fession, and to cause laymen to marvel
when they learn them. And by admitting
facts is meant those that are authenticated
beyond disbelief. If there were not ply
sicians OF good repute and clergymen TO at
test them, they would nave strong circum-
stantial corroboration in the fact that the
family has steadily avoided any scheme
that would lead to the notoriety of the I'M
fortunate woman, much less to any finan-
cial profit that might be derived from
awakening interest in her.
Here is a brief resume of her history: In
1867 Miss Fancher, then eighteen years old,
was the victim of two or three accidents.
Once she was thrown from a horse, and at
another time fell from a street car and was
badly bruised. The last affair in ured her
spine, and as partial result she has been
confined to her bed ever since. Her par
ents were dead, but she found the most
constant care at the hands OF relatives.
The best physicians were summoned to at
tend her, most of whom are now living to
attest the strange development of her dis
order. ,;td Her nervous system see seemed to
long and frantic nervous commissions
in which she apparently suffered excru-
ciating agony. She came out of these
spasms insensible, and would lie passive
for time until the chaotic agitations be-
gan again. Nothing that was done for her
produced any favorable effect, and the
physicians believed that she would pres
emily die from the violence of her suffer-
times more than would have been accepted
IS sufficient to cause death in ordinary peo-
pie, IL began to appear that her senses were,
one by one, leaving her. Sight, hearing
and feeling departed, and her periods of
rest became longer and more frequent.
Once In one of these periods she was de.
clared dead, but her friends did not accept
the decision and watched her patiently
and anxiously for twenty days. At the
M Eh To
life and consciousness. Her power of
speech was restored, as well as her other
faculties, and she told strange stories of
what she had experienced during her cata-
leptic condition. after few days she went
into another trance, but it did not last
long. The semblance to death was even
more marked than formerly and the re-
turn to life was as sudden and unexpected.
These occurrences were all within the
first two months of her illness, aud per-
haps the strangest fact of all is that in this
time she took no nourishment whatever.
DIR. S. Fleet Spier was the chief physician
in charge of her case, and he has continued
to be until this day. He took pains to
drop in when he was not expected at his
patients house, and often administered
emetics, and the result invariably proved
that Miss FaDcher had eaten nothing. To
a remarkable extent this fast has continued
ever since. at the end of the two months
she could retain a small quantity of light
food, but during the twenty years that
have elapsed it is said on good authority
that she has not eaten enough to keep a
baby alive for a week.
One day early in her illness she went
into rigid trance with her head resting
on her right arm. The trance endured
four days, but it was nine years before she
modified her attitude or the position of
her limbs. During this period she had
many frances, but when she came out of
them the power of speech returned to her
and she ccnversed intelligently with her
friends She told graphic tales of visions of
the conventional paradise, streets of gold,
shining white angels, heavenly harpers
md the ike, and she insisted that
her angel friends were with her
constantly. In many respects she spoke
after the manner of spiritualistic mediums,
and delivered messages from departed
friends to the living. Butno report of this
was allowed to 90 from the house for years,
and Miss Fancher even expressed mild
aversion to deliberate experiments in the
way of communing with departed friends.
This, in fact has been her attitude through
out all her long illness; she was perfectly
willing to tell what she saw, but did not
believe in inducing deliberately the return
of her strange experiences, or the exercise
OF her mys terieus faculties.
As her disease developed during the nine
years she exhibited faculty called, for
the lack Of q better name, second sight.
The stories told about her powers in this
direction approach the absolutely fabulous,
but many of them are so well authenticated
that they can not be entirely rejected.
She never opened her eyes, but if she had
it would not have assisted her in repeating
the contents of an unopened letter just
brought in from the postoffice. That feat
has been a common one with her. But
however much credence one may be in
cllned to place in such anecdotes, the sci.
entihc data are equally remarkable.
Her ordinary faculties came and went
| in the utmost disorder. One day she
could talk, move all her body except
| the right arm under her head, taste and
| feel; without warning one or all of these
faculties would leave her. 1t might be that
she ceased talking in the middle of a sem
| tence; or that she ceased to hear or feel or
| all three together; and in addition might
come rigidity of the body, death damp
ness all over her, and all the appearance Of
| a corpse. This might endure several days,
| and meantime the only sign OF life, but
good one, would be faint beating Of the
| heart. She became so thin from the neck
| down that she seemed merely skin and
bone. She could take no solid food at all,
and asked occasionally for fruit juice with
which she moistened her lips. And, that
1 fofl of he Ions hoI